Lucrări Ştiinţifice-Seria Zootehnie, vol. 59 FIRST REPORT OF MAZOCRAES ALOSAE (HERMAN, 1782), PRONOPRYMNA VENTRICOSA (RUDOLPHI, 1891) AND LECITHASTER CONFUSUS ODHNER, 1905 IN PONTIC SHAD ALOSA IMMACULATA BENNET, 1835 NEAR TURKISH COASTS OF THE BLACK SEA A. Özer1*, T. Öztürk1, Y. Kornyychuk2 1 Sinop University, Sinop, Turkey Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas, Crimea, Ukraine 2 Abstract In the present study, a total of 31 specimens of pontic shad, Alosa immaculata Bennet, 1835 (Pisces: Clupaeidae) caught in the Black Sea coasts near Sinop, Turkey in 2010 were investigated for their parasite fauna. Four parasite species were identified: Mazocraes alosae (Herman, 1782), Pronoprymna ventricosa (Rudolphi, 1891), Lecithaster confusus Odhner, 1905 and Hysterothylacium aduncum (Rudolphi, 1802). H. aduncum was the core species with infection prevalence of 96.7% and mean intensity value of 97.1 ± 18.1 parasites per infected fish, followed by M. alosae (61.3% and 3.2 ± 0.5), P. ventricosa (35.5% and ± 12.5) and L. confusus (29% and 8.2 ± 2.8), respectively. In the present study, Mazocraes alosae, Pronoprymna ventricosa and Lecithaster confusus are reported from pontic shad off Turkish coasts of the Black Sea for the first time. Key words: Alosa immaculata, parasites, Black Sea INTRODUCTION1 The pontic shad, Alosa immaculata Bennett, 1835 from Clupeidae family, is an anadromous pelagic fish of great economic value for all the Black Sea countries. The main habitats of this species are the Black Sea, the Azov and Caspian Seas [10, 30]. It prefers to feed in the southern part of the Black Sea [9]. There are five Alosa species near Turkish Black sea coasts; Alosa caspia caspia (Eichwald, 1838), Alosa maeotica (Grimm, 1901), Alosa pontica (Eichwald, 1838) (Syn; Alosa immaculata Bennett, 1835), Alosa tanaica (Grimm, 1901) and Alosa fallax (Lacepede, 1803) [3,14, 18, 31]. This fish species is captured along all the Black Sea the coasts including Anatolian coast, where present study was conducted near Sinop. Its capture value increased from 720 tonnes to 2582 tones in the last decade with some little fluctuations [1]. However, the overall stocks of pontic shad in the Black *Corresponding author: aozer@sinop.edu.tr The manuscript was received: 14.02.2013 Accepted for publication: 18.05.2013 Sea seem to be under threat mainly due to excessive fishing and pollution [20]. Parasite fauna of Alosa immaculata (syn.: Alosa (Caspialosa) kessleri pontica) near north, NW, western and eastern coasts of the Black Sea have been studied [6, 8,15, 26, 27, 28] as well as in the Sea of Azov [22, 29], Danube [25] and Dniper river [16] estuaries. Nevertheless, despite of economical value of the fishes in Turkey, studies on the parasite fauna of Alosa spp. near Turkish coasts of the Black Sea are limited [11] and there were no data on the parasite fauna of the most numerous member of the fish genus in the Black Sea, pontic shad Alosa immaculata. Present study is the first one providing data on both parasite fauna and infection levels of Alosa immaculata off Anatolian coast of the Black Sea. MATERIAL AND METHOD In the present study, the parasite fauna of 31 fish specimens of pontic shad Alosa immaculata Bennet, 1835 caught by fishermen near Sinop (Turkey) in 2010 was studied. Parasitological investigation was - 311 - University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Iasi conducted at the Faculty of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences in Sinop. Dissections were performed with the aid of a dissecting microscope at magnification up to x40 using standard parasitological techniques. The following tissues and organs were examined: skin, fins, gills, mouth, liver, gallbladder, swimbladder, gonads, kidney, heart, lateral musculature, mesenteries, oesophagus, stomach, pyloric caeca and intestine. Metazoan parasites were picked up, counted and treated separately from the lumen and from the surface of the digestive tract. Thin squash preparations were prepared from heart, liver, kidney, gonadal tissue and bile and were examined using a light microscope at magnification x 100–1000. Infection prevalence (%) and mean intensity and abundance of infection [5] were calculated. RESULTS We detected four parasite species in the pontic shad samples: metazoan parasites were represented by one monogenean, two digeneans and one nematode species (Table 1). Overall infection prevalence, mean intensity and abundance values were 96.77%, 110.53± 18.78 parasites per infected fish and 106.96 ± 18.51 parasites per examined fish. Hysterothylacium aduncum occurred both as freely moving larvae, preadults (stage IV) and adults. Infection prevalence (%) was the highest for H. aduncum and followed by Mazocraes alosae, Pronoprymna ventricosa and Lecithaster confusus (Table 1). Hysterothylacium aduncum had the maximum mean intensity value (97.06 ± 18.10) and followed by Pronoprymna ventricosa (29.72 ± 12.53). DISCUSSIONS Despite of diverse parasite fauna of Alosa immaculate known in the Black Sea [6, 8, 11, 15, 26, 27, 28], the present study yielded only four helminth parasites, one of ecto(monogenean) and 3 endoparasitic nature. The number of parasites identified in this fish host in the region studied is similar to those reported from other authors from this host (Table 1). The shads, members of Clupeidae family, are anadromous fishes and they migrate to freshwater for spawning and vise versa for maturation, largely determined by changes in physiological condition of host. This adaptation to both environments may have more effects on the parasite loads of ectoparasitic nature than internal parasites in migratory fish. Trematode P. ventricosa is known from pyloric caeca and intestine of different marine fishes, mainly Clupeidae, in NorthEastern Atlantic, Mediterranean, Caspian Sea, Black Sea and the Sea of Azov [4]. In the Black Sea it was registered for the first time off Caucasian coasts by [8] – she founded and described four specimens of a new genus, Pentagramma (now it is a synonym for Pronoprymna) from the gut of one Alosa immaculata. Later this trematoda species was found from Alosa spp. in NW part of the sea, along Crimean Black Sea coasts (all the data on this region were summarized [15], off Bulgarian coast, in Azov Sea, Paleostomi Lake (Caucasus) and Dniper and Danube rivers estuaries (Table 1), as well as near Bosporus Strait [21] – but in later case from another fish hosts. Hemiurid trematodes Lecithaster confusus is also a widely distributed parasite of marine fish. Its second intermediate hosts are marine copepods, this explains infection of plankton-eating Clupaeidae. The helminth has been registered from Alosa immaculata as in different region of the Black Sea as in Azov, including rivers estuaria (Table 1). Mazocraes alosae is a gill monogenean species specific to Clupaeidae and abundant from Alosa immaculata all over the Black and Azov seas, following the host (Table 1). The less specific parasite of four registered is nematode Hysterothylacium aduncum. It is widely distributed species known in the Black Sea from a lot of fish species. Pontic shads off Anatolian Black Sea coasts revealed to be highly parasitized with H. aduncum, in terms both of larval and adult helminths. - 312 - Lucrări Ştiinţifice-Seria Zootehnie, vol. 59 Table 1 Infection indices and localities reported for parasites have been found from Alosa immaculata Bennet, 1835 off the Anatolian coast the Black Sea Mazocraes alosae Parasites Infection indices P (%) Intensity 45.8 4.5 (1 – 12) 13 – 56,6 1 – 16 16.6 10.7 3.0 (1 – 18) * 3.0 ± 0.5 ** 4.3 ± 0.8 42.1 ** Pronoprymna ventricosa Lecithaster confusus Hysterothylacium aduncum 2 – 65 20-33 7 - 100 3 – 840 16.6 6.1 (1-37) * * 33.3 14.0±4.0 ** ** 21.4 121.0±51.2 35.5 29.7 ± 12.5 90.3 15 - 65 8.3 3.3 7,1 - 50 1 – 24 29.0 8.2 ± 2.8 14 - 86 Authors Black Sea: Sevastopol (Crimean coast) Azov Sea, Kerch Strait Black Sea: Sevastopol (Crimean coast) Black Sea: Sevastopol (Crimean coast) [23] [29] [13] [27] Kerch Strait [28] Black Sea: Sinop (Anatolian coast) Black Sea: Batumi (Caucasian coast) Black Sea: Novorossiysk (Caucasian coast) Gulf of Odessa (North-Western Black Sea) Dnieper river delta Paleostomi Lake Azov Sea, Kerch Strait Black Sea: Sozopol (Bulgarian coast) Black Sea: Sevastopol (Crimean coast) Azov Sea Kerch Strait Present study [8] [17] [7] [29] [12] [15] [22] [27] Kerch Strait [28] Black Sea: Sinop (Anatolian coast) Black Sea: Batumi (Caucasian coast) Black Sea: Novorossiysk (Caucasian coast Black Sea: Odessa (NW Black Sea) Danube river estuary Dniper river estuary Paleostomi Lake Azov Sea, Kerch Strait Azov Sea, Don river, Taganrog estuary Black Sea (Crimean coasts) Black Sea: Sinop (Anatolian coast) Present study [8] [26] [6] [25] [16] [7] [29] [22] [15] Present study * 61.3 3.2 ± 0.5 4 specimens in 1 fish 90.3 8 – 38 83.8 Location 2 – 50 - - 33.0 0.3 (1) 66.6 51.5±15.3 35.7 36.0±15.4 [26] [6] Azov Sea, Kerch Strait [29] Black Sea (Crimean coasts) [15] Black Sea: Sevastopol (Crimean coast) [27] Kerch Strait [28] Black Sea: Sinop (Anatolian coast) Present study 96.8 97.1 ± 18.1 * ** during migration of Alosa: from the Black Sea to Azov Sea; from Azov Sea to the Black Sea CONCLUSIONS REFERENCES Three marine fish helminthes specific to Clupaeidae fishes, Mazocraes alosae, Pronoprymna ventricosa and Lecithaster confusus are reported from pontic shad off Turkish coasts of the Black Sea for the first time – it gives an additional data on their areas in the Black Sea. 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